Caterina Cavalieri

Caterina Cavalieri (11 March 1755-30 June 1801) was an Austrian opera actress.

Biography
Katharina Magdalena Josepha Cavalier was born in Lichtental, Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire. In 1775, she made her stage debut, and she studied voice with composer Antonio Salieri. On 16 July 1782, she starred in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's play Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), a play depicting the rescue of a woman from an Ottoman pasha's harem. Cavalieri fell in love with Mozart, but she became angered when she discovered that he was engaged to Constanze Weber, throwing her bouquet of flowers (given to her by King Joseph II of Austria) at Mozart. She retired in 1793, and she died an unmarried woman in 1801.